Wow what a busy and energetic day! Thanks so much to the volunteers this week for a cracking job!

Mown pathways

Thanks to Alex for the superb mown pathways which provide clear access into and around the orchard, these connect with existing paths to create a more cohesive park space and allow for a meandering walk through the orchard to fully enjoy the seasonal colours the orchard has to offer this autumn. Thanks to Ruth for her weeding efforts in the herb garden again this week.

Freshly picked sensory plants from the herb garden

It was great to see the guys from Mencap enjoying the warm sunshine and eagerly chipping in with the mulching of the fruit trees and hammering in the stakes for the signs. Good effort!

And thanks to Adam for the delivery of wood chip this week.

We use the wood chip to mulch around the fruit trees to help suppress the grasses and as it gets broken down by all the soil microorganisms it slowly changes the soil composition from a grassland soil, which is dominated by

bacteria to one dominated by fungi which is what a woodland ecosystem prefers. The fungi (known as Mycelium) create a strong interconnected network underground and they have a mutually beneficial relationship with the trees and plants in the woodland.

Mutually beneficial relationship

The mycelium connect to the plant roots and increase the root length and surface area making otherwise unattainable water and nutrients available to the plant. Where as the plants convert sunlight into sugars (photosynthesise) and make these sugars available to the mycelium who can not photosynthesise. This exchange is known as a symbiotic relationship.

This special relationship helps strengthen and create a more resilient ecosystem.